Album Review: Jordan Rakei – ‘Wallflower’

Born in New Zealand, but now residing in London, musician Jordan Rakei has recently released his soul-inspiring new album ‘Wallflower’ on Ninja Tune via Inertia Music. Rakei will tour the record across Australia early next year at shows that are surely not to be missed. Full details below

It’s made clear from the start of the album, on opening track ‘Eye to Eye’, that soul is something that heavily influences Jordan Rakei, and that continues across the record as his vocals consistently oozes soul on each track. Rakei’s soulfulness creates an atmosphere of storytelling that is moving, warm and inviting. On ‘May’, his hauntingly personal yet relatable lyrics about his family roots, combined with his powerful voice, will give you goosebumps for days. Much of the album explores Rakei’s own personal struggles with introversion and anxiety and his masterful lyrics are a spine-tingling reminder of that. On ‘Nerve’, Rakei is painfully honest as he sings ‘how can I find a reason to love you when I don’t love myself?’

What Rakei does so well sonically throughout the record is mix genres like soul, R&B and jazz and bring them into the contemporary music landscape with modern electronic production, creating a lush and dynamic sound, much like The Internet or Hiatus Kaiyote; most notably on tracks like ‘Goodbyes’ and ‘Lucid’.

Overall, ‘Wallflower’ is the perfect soul-stirring record that will move you with its relatable lyrics, Rakei’s powerful and soulful vocals and with its sonically lush and complex production.

‘Wallflower‘ by Jordan Rakei is out now on Ninja Tune via Inertia Music

About the author

Rebecca is currently studying Marketing/Media Communications but has a passion for everything music related! In her spare time, you could probably find her at a concert or trying to discover as much new music as possible!